2013 - February 16 to 24 Current Affairs _ PREPARE GK

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2013 - February 16 to 24 Current Affairs

International Affairs

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel on 19

February 2013 announced a coalition deal with the rival centrist

Hatnua Party Chairwomen and the former Israeli Foreign

Minister, Tzipi Livni, at Jerusalem. Under the deal agreement,

Netanyahu's Likud party and its Beitenu alliance partner announced

that Livni would serve as justice minister and "negotiator with the

Palestinians to reach an agreement that would end the conflict.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa was re-elected for a third

term with more than 50 percent of the vote according to the

election results declared in the third week of February 2013. As per

the results, Rafael Correa got 56.7 percent while his closestcompetitor Guillermo could secure only 23.3 percent.

Correa is a socialist leader who was first elected in 2007. He is

credited with bringing political stability to a nation that experienced

several protests and coups. He is known for his citizen revolution

which made him popular among people of Ecuador. During his six

years in power, Correa provided access to education and healthcare

and bettered thousands of miles of highways, leading to creation of

jobs in the process. Moreover, Poverty rates declined significantly.

After a week of talks, delegates from 140 countries on 19February, agreed to the world's first treaty on limiting use of

mercury at Geneva, Switzerland. The treaty will be actually signed

in October this year at Minamata, Japan where over 10,000 people

died as a result of mercury poisoning between 1932 and 1968.

Mercury was being released in the Minamata Bay from a c hemical

factory nearby.

The new treaty aims to reduce the production and the use of

mercury, especially in the production of products and in industrial

processes. Mercury is found in products ranging from electrical

switches, thermometers and light-bulbs, to amalgam dental fillings

and even facial creams. Large amounts of the heavy metal arereleased from small-scale gold mining, coal-burning power plants,

metal smelters and cement production.

A new report by the UNEP released just before talks began in Geneva

said that nearly 2,000 tons of mercury is emitted globally into

the air from human activities every year. Much of this toxic

substance eventually becomes deposited on vegetation, in the soil,

and in oceans, lakes and rivers. The deputy head of UNEP's Chemical

Branch said that much human exposure to mercury is through the

consumption of contaminated fish. Mercury affects the brain and

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nervous system.

Pregnant women who ingest mercury can pass the toxic effects to

their unborn children. Serious mercury poisoning affects the body's

immune system and can lead to problems including psychological

disorders, loss of teeth and problems with the digestive,

cardiovascular and respiratory tracts.

The Minamata Convention, as the treaty will be known after it is

signed by the agreeing countries formally, will set rules limiting thesupply of and trade in mercury and the use of mercury in products

and industrial processes. It will also lay down measures to reduce

emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining, as also from

power plants and metals production facilities.

Bulgaria's government resigned on 20 February, after mass

protests against high power prices and falling living standards,

joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity

during four years of debt crisis. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, who took

power in 2009 on pledges to root out graft and raise incomes in the

European Union's poorest member, faces a tough task of propping up

eroding support ahead of an expected early election. The spark forthe protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised

prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider

frustration with Borisov and political elites with perceived links to

shadowy businesses.

Regional African leaders signed a deal on 24 February, aimed at

bringing peace and stability to the eastern Democratic Republic

of the Congoafter years of unrest. Eleven countries in the Great

Lakes region signed on to the accord at a ceremony in the Ethiopian

capital Addis Ababa in the presence of UN chief Ban Ki-moon. DR

Congo's mineral-rich east has been ravaged by conflict involving

numerous armed groups for the past two decades, with new rebel

movements spawned on a regular basis.

The presidents of the DR Congo, South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda,

Congo and Tanzania were present for the signing, along with envoys

from Uganda, Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic and

Zambia. The accord calls for regional countries to refrain from

interfering in each other's affairs and aims to encourage the reform of

weak institutions in the DRC, central Africa's largest country. It could

also lead to creation of a special UN "intervention brigade" in eastern

DR Congo to combat rebel groups as well as new political efforts.

The latest surge in violence was in 2012 and culminated in the

rebel March 23 movement (M23) force briefly seizing the key town

of Goma last November. The pact calls on regional actors "to neither

tolerate nor provide assistance or support of any kind to armed

groups."

Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned on 19 February

after his attempt to end a political stand-off by forming a

government of technocrats failed. Jebali had proposed the cabinet

of apolitical technocrats to quell turmoil caused by the assassination

of secular opposition politician Chokri Belaid on February 6. Belaid's


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death touched off mass protests targeting in part the ruling moderate

Islamist party Ennahda to which Jebali belongs.

The crisis has disrupted efforts to revitalize an economy hit hard by

the disorder that followed the overthrow of veteran strongman Zine

al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Jebali proposed forming a cabinet of

apolitical technocrats to restore calm and take Tunisia to elections,

but did not consult his own party or its secular coalition partners. But

his party skippered the plan by rejecting the idea of a technocratic

government.

The Court of Arbitration at The Hague on 18 February 2013

allowed India to go ahead with the Construction of the

Kishanganga hydroelectric project in Gurez valley near

Bandipura in North Kashmir,the court rejected the plea of Pakistan

that the construction was a violation of 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

The Court of Arbitration, chaired by Stephen M. Schwebel in its order

stated that India can move ahead with the diversion of water plans

of Kishanganga that is a tributary of Jhelum, for generation of hydro-

electric power.

Bhaswati Mukherjee, Indian Ambassador and her Pakistani counterpart

Fauzia Mazhar Sana received the Judgment of the Court at The

Hague. Pakistan initiated the arbitration against India with a charge

that India violated the provisions of the Water Treaty between the

two countries. But India denied the charges forced on to it by explain

that the country reserved its rights to divert the water from one of

the tributaries of Jhelum to another. Pakistan on 17 May 2010 raised

objections on the making of the Kishanganga Hydro-power project for

which it demanded setting up of the Court of Arbitration. The project

is being developed at the down streams of Kishanganga River that is

known by the name Neelam in Pakistan and is a tributary of Jhelum.

India is diverting the waters of the river from the dam site to BonarMadmati Nallah that is another tributary of Jhelum. The Indus system

of rivers comprises three Eastern Rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej and

their tributaries) and three Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab

and their tributaries).The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 was signed on

19.09.1960 between India and Pakistan.

Kishanganga hydroelectric power project is a 330 MW project under

its construction phase on the Kishanganga River and is developed by

the National Power Corporation in Gurez Valley, near Bandipura in

North Kashmir. The work on the project started in the year 1992. The

Kishanganga hydro-electric project is a 3600 crore project.

Kishanganga is called Neelam in Pakistan.

National Affairs

The second meeting of the Coordination Committee on Living

and Diverse Cultural Traditions was held in New Delhi on 18

February, under the chairpersonship of Union Culture Minister Smt.

Chandresh Kumari Katoch. The high-powered committee goes into all

aspects of intangible heritage and makes recommendations on the

areas of preparation of a national inventory on Intangible Cultural

Heritage, archives, education and outreach programmes by using


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such information. The committee comprises individuals who have

distinguished themselves in the field of research and promotion of

Indian culture viz. Kapila Vatsyayan, Sitakant Mahapatra, Prof. G.N.

Devy, Prof. Kartikeya V. Sarabhai, Prof.

Peter Ronald De Souza and secretaries of several ministries of the

Union Government. It was decided by the coordination committee

that an expert committee should be constituted to decide on the

work of preparing a national register of Indias intangible culture and

to advise on a mechanism overarching inter-ministerial coordinationleading to a comprehensive action plan to preserve and promote

Indias intangible heritage and dying cultural traditions. It was also

decided that we should focus as much on people since without that

focus on our living traditions cannot be sustained.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation,

Government of India has organized a two day International

conference on Inclusive Urban Planning on 18-19th February

2013 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Kumari Selja, Minister for Social

Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, inaugurated the

International Workshop on Inclusive Urban Planning. In her inaugural

address, Minister highlighted the social and cultural dimensions ofexclusionary outcome of traditional planning processes and spoke of

the need to integrate the marginalized in the spatial planning

processes, giving particular emphasis to the aged and the disabled.

The opening session reflected at Indias current urban planning

models, of planning visions, strategies and tools, and at the

institutional form of planning institutions in Indian cities.

The second session focused on inclusionary planning models practiced

in cities outside India, and reflected at processes and outcomes

linked to the choice of planning model adopted from societies and

nations in transition, including from South Africa, Brazil, China and

East Asian countries.

The third session reflected on governance of urban planning, lookingat laws, institutions and regulatory rules that govern the urban

planning process. The fourth session critically examined the different

plans and policies that evolved through Government schemes and

programmes in India. A Delhi Declaration on Inclusive Urban Planning

was adopted by the Conference. The two day International

Conference was well attended by national and international level

experts on urban planning & poverty alleviation, officials from Central

and state government, Municipal Commissioners, international donor

agencies and representatives from academic, training and research

institutions.

Government has decided to constitute a subcommittee of

experts to work towards a draft National Conservation Policy .

Chairing the meeting of the National Empowered Committee (NEC) of

the National Mission of Manuscripts (NMM) in New Delhi on 19

February, Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch

appreciated the performance and work of the NMM. She said there is

a need to provide training to people in the preservation and

conservation of documents and manuscripts of historical and archival

value. She said both the National Archives of India and National

Manuscript Mission may work in close coordination to attract talent

towards manuscripts conservation work. The 13-member NEC is the


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highest policy making body of the NMM. The Minister assured the

members of the committee to consider the proposal of the experts to

review the status of the NMM at an appropriate time.

After six years, the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute

Tribunal was notified on 19 February. The move came after the

Supreme Court rapped the Centre for delaying the decision and had

on February 4 set February 20 as the deadline to issue notification.

The Tribunal, comprising chairman Justice N P Singh and members N S

Rao and Sudhir Narain, in a unanimous award in February 2007 haddetermined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740

thousand million cubic (TMC) feet at the Lower Coleroon Anicut site.

The proceedings of the Tribunal, set up in June 1990, went on for

more than 16 years.

In, what was then described as a balancing act, the Tribunal gave

Tamil Nadu 419 TMC of water (as against the demand of 562 TMC);

Karnataka 270 TMC (as against its demand of 465 TMC); Kerala 30

TMC and Puducherry 7 TMC. For environmental protection, it had

reserved 10 TMC. The Tribunal's award will come into effect within 90

days of its notification by the Centre. As per law, the award comes

into effect after being notified by the Centre through its publicationin a gazette. After the issuance of the notification, institutions like

the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) chaired by the Prime Minister and

the CMC will cease to exist. New organizations like the Cauvery

Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee will

be constituted which will have representatives from all the co-basin

states, experts in hydrology and agriculture. They will be headed by

an officer of the central government and will be under the control of

the Centre.

Students with Disabilities will now be trained in the Hospitality

Industry under Hunar Se Rojgar Scheme. This is a pro-poorscheme aimed to bridge the gap of skilled manpower in the hospitality

sector. This is a new initiative of the ITDC through its Ashok Institute

of Hospitality & Tourism Management (AIH &TM) where a PwD who

has a minimum qualification of 8th Class and is between the age

group of 18 28 years is eligible to get training and other benefits.

The National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation

(NHFDC), CMD, Harsh Bhal and India Tourism & Development

Corporation (ITDC), Vice Chairman & MD, Dr. Lalit K. Panwar signed

an MoU on 21 February, for skill development of Persons with

Disabilities (PwDs) in Hospitality Sector.

The scheme consists of six/eight weeks full time training programmes

in services like, Food & Beverage, House Keeping Utility and Back

office jobs etc. No application fee or course fee is chargeable to the

trainees. Under the MoU signed today between NHFDC & ITDC, the

Students with Disabilities will also be eligible for skill up gradation

course (Second Stage) which will be of the duration of 2 months to 6

months.

The Union Cabinet on 21 February, gave its approval to extend

the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis


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(NCSK) for a further period of three years beyond 1 April, 2013

that is up to 31 March 2016, with the existing terms. The

continuation of the Commission for three more years will help in

fulfilling the desired objectives of the welfare and development of the

target group as there is a continued need to monitor the various

interventions and initiatives of the Government for the welfare of

Safai Karamcharis in general, and to address the problem of manual

scavenging, in particular. An amount of Rs. 11.50 crore would be

required for meeting the expenditure for the extension of the tenure

of the Commission.

A statutory National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) was

constituted for the first time in August 1994, according to provisions

under Section 3 of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act,

1993. This Commission continued until February 2004, when the

relevant Act expired. Thereafter, the tenure of the Commission has

been extended from time to time, as a non-statutory body, the last

such extension being upto 31.3.2013. The Commission functions

among other things for the upliftment of safai karamcharis, evaluation

of the implementation of measures taken for the welfare of safai

karamcharis, making of suitable recommendations to the Central

Government in this regard, and to investigate grievances relating toimplementation of schemes, laws etc. for the purpose.

Justice (Retd) (Ms) Usha Mehra Commission submitted its

report to the Government which was received by the Union

Minister of Law & Justice, Ashwani Kumar and the Union Home

Secretary R.K.Singh in New Delhi on 22 February. The Commission

was constituted on 26 December 2012 to inquire into various aspects

of shocking incidence of rape and brutal assault at a young woman in

Delhi on December 16, 2012 to submit its report within 3 months and

the Commission has submitted it before time.

Minister of Panchayati Raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo in the Lok Sabhasaid that, the Government in 2010 to suggest appropriate measures

on Ownership, Price Fixation, Value Addition and Marketing of Minor

Forest Produce constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship

of Dr. T. Haque. The Committee submitted its Report in May

2011. The major recommendations made by the Committee are:

1) Amendment in State Laws and Indian Forest Act, 1927 should be

done to clearly reflect the ownership of minor forest produce by the

Gram Sabha.

2) Strategic government intervention would be necessary in the short

and medium term in the form of minimum support price (MSP) for at

least 14 main MFPs, namely tamarind, mahuwa flower, mahuwa seed,

tendu leaf, bamboo, sal seed, myrobalan, chironji, lac, gum karaya,

honey and seeds of karaja, neem and puwad.

3) The minimum support price should be fixed at the national level by

a specially constituted Central Price Fixation Commission, comprising

one chairperson who will be an expert in the field of tribal and rural

development and three other members having experience in the

relevant field.

4) It will be obligatory for the State Government to ensure payment

of MSP through its agencies. All administrative and operational costs

of agencies defending the MSP shall be borne by the Government, as

envisaged under first proviso to Article 275(1) of the Constitution or

any other provision. The Government has examined the


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recommendations of the Committee and has decided to work on a

separate Scheme for minimum support price.

The Minister of Panchayati Raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo on 22

February, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha for a question about the

initiations to strengthen the panchayats, submitted that the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has provided assistance to States

for capacity building of Panchayats through the Rashtriya Gram

Swaraj Yojana (RGSY), Capacity Building grant of the BackwardRegions Grant Fund (BRGF) and Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti

Abhiyan (PMEYSA) and promoted e-enablement of Panchayats

through the e-Panchayat scheme.

An untied grant is provided to Panchayats through States for bridging

critical gaps in local infrastructure in identified backward districts on

the basis of decentralized planning under BRGF. MoPR has incentivized

States through the Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability

Incentive Scheme (PEAIS) for devolving funds, functions and

functionaries to Panchayats and has incentivized Panchayats for

performance. For the Twelfth Plan MoPR has initiated the Rajiv Gandhi

Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan which enables States to takemeasures to strengthen their Panchayati Raj systems as per their

needs.

Bilateral Relations

The inaugural meeting of the India-UAE High Level Task Force

on Investments was held in Abu Dhabi on 18 February. More

than 50 government and private sector representatives from India

and the UAE were present. The high-level taskforce, co-chaired by

the Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles Anand Sharma

and HH Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu

Dhabi Crown Prince Court, was established in April 2012 as a platform

to address mutual issues associated with existing investments

between the two countries and to promote and facilitate investments

between the two countries.

India and UAE are significant trading partners and bilateral trade

between the two countries is expected to reach new record levels in

years to come. The meeting of the India-UAE High Level Task Force

on Investments included a wide-ranging discussion on priority sectors

of engagement for channeling investments in the two countries,

areas of shared interest including the agreement in principle to put in

place an Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement(BIPA) and expedite its conclusion, as well as assistance and support

of Governments of both countries for expediting the resolution of

issues associated with existing investments and opportunities for new

cross-border investments across a range of sectors.

In order to progress these efforts, it was decided that working groups

will be created to strengthen and develop bilateral relations in the

investment fields and an agreement was reached between the two

countries on the format and structure of future discussions, including

the allocation of USD 2 billion for investments in infrastructure

projects in India and support the establishment of a strategic oil

reserve in India. India and United Kingdom on 20 February singed


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two MoU to promote development of community colleges and

implementation of School Leadership Programme.

The MOU are signed on behalf of India by Minister of State, HRD, Jitin

Prasada and for United Kingdom by Mr. David Willetts, Minister for

Universities and Science in New Delhi. Mr. Willetts is in India as a

member of height level delegation led by Prime Minister of UK, David

Cameron. The two sides also discussed the ways and means to

strengthen the education sector. The leaders welcomed the

partnership between the UK Open University and Government ofIndia, supported by British Council and UKAID, to provide training to

teachers using web-based and other innovative technology. The

leaders welcomed the UK-India partnership to support secondary

education through the Government of Indias Rashtriya Madhyamik

Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) to universalize access to secondary

education with emphasis on quality and equity. Mr. Prasada and Mr.

Willetts expressed satisfaction on the ongoing collaborative

programmes and assured of their strong support to various

programmes being devised by the Government, institutions as well as

the industry leaders from both the countries to bring in further

momentum to the educational relations between India and UK.

The Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC), promoted by CII,

NSDC and leading healthcare service providers in India, and

Skills-for-Health, UK have signed a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) to collaborate and work together in the

area of healthcare skills. The MoU was signed by Dr. Naresh

Trehan, Chairman, Healthcare Sector Skill Council and John Roger,

CEO, Skills-for-Health, UK. The MOU was formally announced during

the UK Prime Minister Mr. David Camerons State visit to India on 19th

February 2013.The Healthcare Sector in India has grown at a CAGR of

12.4% over the last 5 years and is estimated to increase at a CAGR

of 17% to reach USD 250 billion by 2020.

While the healthcare sector in India is expanding, the biggest

challenge for the sector is shortage of skilled workforce. Availability

of physicians, nurses, mid-wives is far below global standards. Both

the organizations - HSSC (India) and Skills-for-Health (UK) -

recognize that there is a huge scope for mutual cooperation and

learning between India and the UK in skill development in allied

healthcare & paramedic space. Skills-for-Health has a unique

combination of experience, expertise and institutions which could be

of immense help to HSSC in India in creating the proposed eco-

system for quality vocation education to meet its needs for a trained

workforce in allied healthcare and paramedics.

Economic Issues

The Minister for Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh on 20 February, said

that Civil Aviation Authority, (CAA) will soon replace the

Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA). Addressing a press

conference, the Minister said that the Bill for creation of the

Authority is likely to be introduced in the second part of the Budget

session of Parliament. The Civil Aviation Authority will be headed by a

Chairperson who will be supported by Director-General and seven to

nine members. Chairperson, DG and Members will be appointed by the


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Central Government on the recommendation of a Selection

Committee.

In this backdrop, the CAA would take over the responsibilities of the

DGCA in areas like air safety, airspace regulation, setting aviation

standards, licensing of airlines, pilots, air traffic controllers and

consumer protection. It would have financial and operational

autonomy to take expeditious decisions on matters relating to a

range of activities. It will have power and authority to call for

information including financial information and conduct investigations,power to issue directions, power of seizure, power to punish any

person, operator, company or a Government Department, if they fail

to comply with its orders or directions and the punishment will be in

the form of fine as prescribed under the Rules.

The Authority shall have full financial autonomy and shall have a

separate fund, the Civil Aviation Authority of India Fund which will

be used for all expenses of the authority in connection with the

discharge of its functions including salaries etc. The main functions

and powers of the proposed CAA, which would replace the

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be to regulate civil

aviation safety and provide for the better management of civilaviation through safety oversight of air transport operators, airport

operators, air navigation service operators and providers of civil

aviation services. The minister said that the reasons for

establishment of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are because of

shortage of trained human resource, its inability to recruit and retain

adequate manpower due to procedural and structural problems.

The Cabinet Committee on Investment on 20 February, has

cleared the proposal of the Ministry of Power for setting up of

the North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Plant (NKSTPP) (3 x

660 MW) by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in

the vicinity of Tandwa town, district Chatra in Jharkhand.Safeguards according to the recommendation of the Chaturvedi

Committee and accepted by the Group of Ministers (GoM) under the

chairmanship of Finance Minister will apply.

The project to be set up by NTPC will be on a pit-head with

environment friendly super-critical technology. The power will be

generated by NTPC for about 35 years of plant life. Execution of the

project would lead to generation of 1980 MW of power. This is the

first project of NTPC in Jharkhand which will benefit the state and

people of Jharkhand where about 26 percent of the population is

tribal.

The Union Cabinet on 21 February, gave its approval for merger of

Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels Ltd. (BHPV) Vishakhapatnam

with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), New Delhi. The

merger will facilitate BHPV to become a unit of BHEL. BHPV would be

able to participate in tenders, obtain orders and attract best vendors

for procuring materials / capital goods. Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels

Ltd. (BHPV) is an engineering / heavy fabrication company

established in 1966 in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Due to various factors, there were heavy losses and the company


10/14



was declared sick by the Board for Industrial and Financial

Reconstruction (BIFR) in October, 2005. Bharat Heavy Electricals

Limited (BHEL) took over BHPV as its 100 percent subsidiary in 2008.

However, the company's performance was not up to the mark, as it

remained a separate company and it could not derive full benefits of

synergy with BHEL.

Northern Coalfields Ltd, a Mini Ratna company and subsidiary of

Maha Ratna Company Coal India Ltd, has bagged the award of 50Most Caring Companies of India in the World Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) congress 2013 held in Mumbai on February 18,

2013 on worlds CSR Day.

NCLs Director (Personnel) Ms Shanti Lata Sahoo received the award

on behalf of the company consisting of a trophy and a citation. The

award was conferred on NCL for its good corporate citizenship and

companys endeavors to promote partnership between the Business

and Social Welfare Sectors.

The World CSR Congress brings over 130 countries under one roof to

unite the best and celebrate leadership in building a better societyand making better world. The theme of Congress was Possible to Do

Well by Doing Good.

Almost three years after it was first promised in the Union Budget of

2010-11, theReserve Bank of India on 22 February, has allowed

all private and public sector companies to apply for bank

licenses, paving the way for business houses such as the Tatas,

Aditya Birla group, L&T, ADAG, Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance to

come in to the business. Besides these large groups, financial service

companies like Bajaj Finserv, Shriram Capital, Srei Finance and some

public sector finance companies such as Power Finance Corporation,Rural Electrification Co and LIC Housing Finance may also seek a

license.

The last time the RBI issued a license to a private player was in 2004

to Yes Bank. The final norms, announced on 22 February, come 18

months after the RBI issued draft guidelines on the issue and does

not exclude real estate companies from applying for licenses as was

widely believed. The final guidelines were delayed as the central bank

insisted that the government amend banking laws to give it sweeping

powers to replace the boards of banks and supervise conglomerates

that have a bank in the group. Even after amendments to the act,

the guidelines went through a few iterations with the government

asking RBI to knock out parts that excluded builders and brokers. The

final set of rules requires promoters to bring in a minimum capital of

Rs 500 crore. Also, unlike the earlier draft it does not require the

applicant to get a clearance from enforcement authorities. However,

it does say that RBI may seek feedback from investigative agencies

such as Income Tax, Central Bureau of Investigation, and

Enforcement Directorate, which suggests that the background of

applicants have to be squeaky clean.

Given that the RBI will receive applications until July and

subsequently pass them on to a screening committee, it is unlikely


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that the first bank license will be issued before October-November.

Unlisted Indian firms Tata Sons Ltd, Arun Bhatia's Telestra

Tradeplace Pvt Ltd and Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd Asia's biggest

budget carrier, said on 20 February, they are seeking approval

to establish a joint venture. Air Asia has applied to Foreign

Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to take 49 per cent in a venture

with Tata Sons Ltd and Arun Bhatia's Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd,

the low-fare carrier. Once approved, they will seek an air operatorspermit. The move follows government's recent decision to allow

foreign carriers to invest in Indian airlines.

The proposed joint venture will operate from Chennai and will focus

on providing domestic connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. As

per current rules, a carrier must complete five years of domestic

operations before becoming eligible for starting overseas flights. Air

Asia, through its operations based in Thailand and Malaysia flies to

Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Tiruchirappalli and Kolkata in addition to 20

countries across Asia. Air Asia, Tatas and Hindustan Aviation of

Bhatias have signed a partnership agreement for the venture.

Science and Technology

The first wildlife skywalk of India will be coming up in Maenam

wildlife sanctuary, Sikkim. The State Government of Sikkim

proposed to construct 22 km rope-way from Maenam sanctuary to

skywalk which would be built on edge of Bhalleydhunga steep face.

Maenam wildlife sanctuary in Sikkim is 65 km south from Gangtok, the

capital of the state. It is a popular tourist destination as well.

The environment ministry too has approved the proposal of Sikkim

government for the first wildlife skywalk of India proposal that wouldcost 500 crore Rupees. This skywalk would be like the one in Grand

Canyon in North America. The skywalk in Grand Canyon in North

America gets more than 300000 visitors every year, in spite of

opposition from the wild-lifers.

Awards

Leading accounting and consultancy firm E&Y India has awarded the

Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of the

$100-billion conglomerate, with the Entrepreneur of the Year

Lifetime Achievement Award. Tata received the award from

Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot in Mumbai on 22 February. Tatahad won the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003 as well. Adi

Godrej of the Godrej Group has won the Entrepreneur of the Year for

2012, who will represent India at the E&Y World Entrepreneur of the

year award in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June.

The other awardees are Dr Naresh Trehan of MedantaThe Medicity

for start-ups, Dhiraj C Rajaram of MuSigma Business Solutions for

services, Francisco DSouza of Cognizant for manager category and

Devi Prasad Shetty of the Narayana Hrudalaya in the for life sciences

and healthcare segment. TT Jagannathan of TTK Group in the

consumer products category, Onkar S Kanwar of Apollo Tyres for


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manufacturing, and Cyrus S Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India for

business transformation was the other awardees. The Ernst & Young

Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which is into the 14th edition, is

recognized as one of the worlds prestigious business awards for

entrepreneurs.

The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 18 February 2013

conferred 2011Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and

Development Award to Ela Ramesh Bhatt, a renowned Women

social worker. The award was given away at Rashtrapati Bhavan,New Delhi. Ela Bhatt was given away the award for life time

achievements in women empowerment, promotion of grass root level

entrepreneurship as well as contribution towards promotion of

equitable development and peace.

Ela Bhatt has her organization SEWA (Self-Employed Womens

Association). Ela Bhatt is the founder of more than 1 million SEWAs in

India. Ela Bhatt has been working for women empowerment and

bringing women out of poverty through promotion of Self Help Groups.

SEWA has empowered women with freedom as well as financial self-

reliance.

The world's two leading internet giants have set aside their rivalries

and joined forces to set up the most lucrative science prize in history

which is more than double the value of the Nobel Prize. Facebook

founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are working

alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne

Wojcicki to create the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences worth

USD 3 million.

The project's aim is to reward research aimed at extending human

life. In the first round of awards 11 scientists were awarded a total of

USD 33 million but going forward an annual amount of USD 15 million

will be set aside for five prize winners. The team that has alreadychosen 11 winners for this year including Cornelia Bargmann, a

neurobiologist and Napolean Ferrara, a molecular biologist has planned

to award science heroes five annual prizes.

Eminent Hindi litterateur Narendra Kohli (73) has been selected

for the prestigious Vyas Samman for 2012 for his historical

novel 'Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati' which is based on Swami

Vivekananda and the era he belonged to. Instituted by the K K Birla

Foundation in 1991, the award is given annually for an outstanding

literary work in Hindi published during the past 10 years.

The award carries a cash purse of Rs 2.5 lakh. 'Na Bhooto Na

Bhavishyati', published in 2004, gives an account of the incredible

impression that Vivekananda cast on the history of the country and

its culture.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota, director

Dr. MYS Prasad has been selected for Dr. Y Nayudamma

Memorial Award for 2013 for his outstanding contributions to the

field of space science. That award will be presented to Prasad at a

function shceduled to be held in Nellore,A.P. in March last week, a

press release by Nayudamma Centre for Development Alternatives


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Mela. The constituted committee that will probe into the matter is a

one-man committee and was directed to submit its report in two

months. The State Government ordered a Judicial Probe into the

incident that occurred on the day of Mauni Amawasya 10 February

2013 at the Allahabad Railway Station during Kumbh Mela.

Ronald Working (81)--American philosopher and Constitutional law

expert, Ronald Dworkin died in a hospital at London on 14 February

2013. The liberal scholar who argued that the law should be founded

on moral integrity died from leukemia. Dworkin was a professor of lawat New York University and was an emeritus professor at University

College London. He was one of the best known and most quoted legal

scholars in the U.S. and also an expert on British law. He wrote books

named A Matter of Principle, Law's Empire and Justice for Hedgehogs.

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2013 - February 16 to 24 Current Affairs _ PREPARE GK